Spirit Blade Productions Newsletter, December 16, 2011
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Card Game Sneak Peak!
This month I thought I'd showcase a key type of card in the upcoming "Spirit Blade: The Adventure Card Game". The picture you see is the uncropped design for an Ability Card.
Most Seekers ("good guys") and some Enemies have abilities they can use in the game to give them an edge. Abilities are represented by Ability Cards, and can usually only be used once per Mission. (Though some can be used an unlimited number of times.) Abilities are divided into categories of Damage, Healing, Manipulation, Prophet, Enemy and Special. (Special Abilities are usually the ones that can be used without limit, such as Shifting, Resourceful, Security Systems and Counter Attack.)
Ability Cards that Seekers have access to are described on their Character Card. For example, the Sanctafi Seeker can take 9 Ability Cards into a mission with him: 3 Damage, 3 Healing and 3 Manipulation. The Prophet Seeker is the only Seeker that can take any Prophet Ability Cards into a mission.
The pictured card is a Manipulation Ability that immobilizes a human Enemy in battle. The concept is based on the way Saolos used miraclai in "Spirit Blade: Dark Ritual" to torture Merikk. Although most cards don't have quite the dark edge that this one does, as you can see, this card game will be every bit as "unsterilized" as the Spirit Blade audio dramas! And being a Seeker doesn't mean you don't still have some rough edges.
Although this card requires some knowledge of the audio dramas to fully appreciate and serves as a bit of audio drama fan service, most cards are completely approachable for those who have never heard of Spirit Blade before.
Play testing has slowed down a bit due to the Christmas season (and yeah, I'm playing Skyrim these days, too), but the hardest work is done and the game is mostly balanced. At this point I'm mainly polishing and making a few minor adjustments that I look forward to telling you about.
Stay tuned for another update in January!
Free Song Download!
It's that time of year again! Which means it's time again for me to make my electronic-industrial rendition of "O Come O Come Emmanuel" available for free download until the end of December!
You can find it listed under "New Features" on our Media Page, or download it here!
If you're a podcaster, please feel free to play it on your show with a credit to "spiritblade.net"!
I hope you enjoy listening and that your Christmas season gets off to a great start!
Our Next Audio Book Is "The Golden Knight"!
I'm pleased to finally announce the title of Spirit Blade Productions' next audio book! "The Golden Knight #1: The Boy Is Summoned", by Steve Clark and Justin Clark!
The synopsis is as follows:
In the beginning, the Kingdom was ruled by a wise and just King who ruled by the laws written in the ancient Book. The people were protected by the archangels and the heroic knights. All lived in peace and prospered. Those days are gone...
Flar, the evil fire lord, and his sorcerer, Murlox, have banished the King and his angels behind an energy field known as the Great Divide. The Book has been taken. The angels have fallen. The knights are gone. The people suffer. All that remains is the prophecy and a promise of hope.
Join Marsonee the archangel and Princess Rainna as they embark on a journey to bring an innocent farm boy toward his true destiny.
Given that the book is aimed at an audience of "tweens", and based on that artwork, you might think that this has "sterilized" and "safe" written all over it. But part of what drew me to the story was the inclusion of some "dark" story elements, such as an imposing villain who wears skulls on his armor, a twisted dark sorcerer, and the fact that someone even takes an arrow shot to the face! (I don't think he's gonna pull through.)
So the audio experience will be very much in keeping with what you've come to expect from Spirit Blade Productions.
The production philosophy we've agreed on is one similar to the live action "Narnia" films. Although there are certainly many elements aimed at a young audience, I'm approaching production with the same serious tone I might give to the "Pilgrim's Progress" audio drama series we're already producing.
Speaking of "series", you'll notice that this is book one of a multi-book series. At this point we've only committed to partnering for the first book in the series, but we're hopeful that the results will be successful enough to warrant audio production of the rest of the series as well!
Stay tuned! I'll have more details about my progress on the project and the release as we get closer to February!
Last Chance!
Don't forget that now through this Sunday the 18th is your LAST CHANCE to take advantage of our huge 40% off sale! Don't miss out! Visit our online store right now!
As always, there's a TON more to explore at spiritblade.net! Have a wonderful, meaningful Christmas!
-Paeter Frandsen
This month I thought I'd showcase a key type of card in the upcoming "Spirit Blade: The Adventure Card Game". The picture you see is the uncropped design for an Ability Card.
Most Seekers ("good guys") and some Enemies have abilities they can use in the game to give them an edge. Abilities are represented by Ability Cards, and can usually only be used once per Mission. (Though some can be used an unlimited number of times.) Abilities are divided into categories of Damage, Healing, Manipulation, Prophet, Enemy and Special. (Special Abilities are usually the ones that can be used without limit, such as Shifting, Resourceful, Security Systems and Counter Attack.)
Ability Cards that Seekers have access to are described on their Character Card. For example, the Sanctafi Seeker can take 9 Ability Cards into a mission with him: 3 Damage, 3 Healing and 3 Manipulation. The Prophet Seeker is the only Seeker that can take any Prophet Ability Cards into a mission.
The pictured card is a Manipulation Ability that immobilizes a human Enemy in battle. The concept is based on the way Saolos used miraclai in "Spirit Blade: Dark Ritual" to torture Merikk. Although most cards don't have quite the dark edge that this one does, as you can see, this card game will be every bit as "unsterilized" as the Spirit Blade audio dramas! And being a Seeker doesn't mean you don't still have some rough edges.
Although this card requires some knowledge of the audio dramas to fully appreciate and serves as a bit of audio drama fan service, most cards are completely approachable for those who have never heard of Spirit Blade before.
Play testing has slowed down a bit due to the Christmas season (and yeah, I'm playing Skyrim these days, too), but the hardest work is done and the game is mostly balanced. At this point I'm mainly polishing and making a few minor adjustments that I look forward to telling you about.
Stay tuned for another update in January!
Free Song Download!
It's that time of year again! Which means it's time again for me to make my electronic-industrial rendition of "O Come O Come Emmanuel" available for free download until the end of December!
You can find it listed under "New Features" on our Media Page, or download it here!
If you're a podcaster, please feel free to play it on your show with a credit to "spiritblade.net"!
I hope you enjoy listening and that your Christmas season gets off to a great start!
Our Next Audio Book Is "The Golden Knight"!
I'm pleased to finally announce the title of Spirit Blade Productions' next audio book! "The Golden Knight #1: The Boy Is Summoned", by Steve Clark and Justin Clark!
The synopsis is as follows:
In the beginning, the Kingdom was ruled by a wise and just King who ruled by the laws written in the ancient Book. The people were protected by the archangels and the heroic knights. All lived in peace and prospered. Those days are gone...
Flar, the evil fire lord, and his sorcerer, Murlox, have banished the King and his angels behind an energy field known as the Great Divide. The Book has been taken. The angels have fallen. The knights are gone. The people suffer. All that remains is the prophecy and a promise of hope.
Join Marsonee the archangel and Princess Rainna as they embark on a journey to bring an innocent farm boy toward his true destiny.
Given that the book is aimed at an audience of "tweens", and based on that artwork, you might think that this has "sterilized" and "safe" written all over it. But part of what drew me to the story was the inclusion of some "dark" story elements, such as an imposing villain who wears skulls on his armor, a twisted dark sorcerer, and the fact that someone even takes an arrow shot to the face! (I don't think he's gonna pull through.)
So the audio experience will be very much in keeping with what you've come to expect from Spirit Blade Productions.
The production philosophy we've agreed on is one similar to the live action "Narnia" films. Although there are certainly many elements aimed at a young audience, I'm approaching production with the same serious tone I might give to the "Pilgrim's Progress" audio drama series we're already producing.
Speaking of "series", you'll notice that this is book one of a multi-book series. At this point we've only committed to partnering for the first book in the series, but we're hopeful that the results will be successful enough to warrant audio production of the rest of the series as well!
Stay tuned! I'll have more details about my progress on the project and the release as we get closer to February!
Last Chance!
Don't forget that now through this Sunday the 18th is your LAST CHANCE to take advantage of our huge 40% off sale! Don't miss out! Visit our online store right now!
As always, there's a TON more to explore at spiritblade.net! Have a wonderful, meaningful Christmas!
-Paeter Frandsen
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